How to use the NoMA medicine database («legemiddelsøk»)

How to search?

You can find information about medicines using various search terms. You can search by:

• Brand name (e.g. Paracet)
• Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH)
• Active ingredient (e.g. paracetamol)
• ATC-code​
  
• Reimbursement code
• Product number
• Dosage form
• Disease/diagnosis for medications on blue prescriptions (See the list of reimbursement codes).

Remember to check the fields you want to search in. You can also search for parts of a word, such as the first part of the brand name or active ingredient. Note that truncation symbols (*) cannot be used.

When you open Legemiddelsøk, the default setting is to display medicines that may be available for sale on the market. This includes:

• Packages that are marketed («Markedsførte pakninger»)
• Packages that are temporarily unavailable («Midlertidig utgåtte pakninger»)
• Packages that have been deregistered within the last three months («Avregistrerte pakninger, I salg (siste 3 mnd.)»)

If you want to see all approved medicines in Norway, you can check the following options under "Vis":

• Approved, not marketed packages («Godkjente, ikke markedsførte pakninger»)
• Approved without Norwegian product information, not marketed. («Godkjent uten Norsk PI, ikke markedsført»)
  

Which medicines are shown in Legemiddelsøk?

Legemiddelsøk displays medicines with the following statuses:

• Marketed (Medicines available for sale)
• Approved but not marketed (Only shown if the medicine has at least one approved package)
• Approved without Norwegian product information, not marketed
• Parallel imported
• Temporarily unavailable
• Deregistered/discontinued (back to 2008)
• Pharmacy-prepared medicines with pre-approved reimbursement (These are only shown under the "Reimbursement" tab)
• Unregistered medicines with pre-approved reimbursement (These are only shown under the "Reimbursement" tab)

Please note:

• The display filters "Original medicines/generics" include all medicines that are not parallel imported, meaning medicines with application types such as Original, Generic, Biosimilar, and Bibliographic.
• Only the "master package" is shown for parallel imported medicines.
• Certain medicines with the status "Without marketing authorasation" are shown if there is a special decision in place.​
  

What information about medicines is displayed in Legemiddelsøk?

Links to Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) for medicines that are:

• Marketed (available for sale in Norway)
• Deregistered for less than three months (may still be available for sale in Norway)
• Approved but not marketed (have marketing authorization)

For medicines approved through the centralized procedure, Medicine Search links to SmPCs stored with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). For medicines approved through other procedures, Medicine Search links to the Norwegian medicines agency (NoMA) file server. Note: For radiopharmaceuticals, SmPCs are displayed in English.

Links to package leaflets on Felleskatalogen for marketed packages (with some exceptions, such as parallel imported medicines). Legemiddelsøk links to package leaflets in the Felleskatalogen, which is a privately-owned publication. Felleskatalogen automatically retrieves updated package leaflets from NoMA and EMA every night.

Other information displayed includes:

• Regulatory information such as:
• Marketing status
• Market authorisation date
• Marketing date
• Marketing authorization holder
• Export country for parallel imported medicines.
• ATC codes and product numbers
  
• Information about price, generic substitutability, reimbursement status, and reimbursement conditions
  
• Information about interactions according to established inclusion criteria
  
• Active ingredients with pre-approved reimbursement
  
• Overview of medicines under special monitoring - black triangle
  

What is not displayed in Legemiddelsøk?

Legemiddelsøk does not include the following:

• Dietary supplements
  
• Pharmacy-prepared products without pre-approved reimbursement
  
• Interactions for veterinary medicines
  
• SmPCs for medicines that were deregistered/discontinued more than three months ago
  
• Package leaflets for medicines that are not marketed, parallel imported, temporarily unavailable, or deregistered/discontinued more than three months ago
  
• Repackaged unit doses from original products for institutional use; these lack price and reimbursement and have product numbers like unregistered packages
  

What is not yet displayed in Medicine Search?

NoMA is working to include the following information in Medicine Search:

• Veterinary SPCs for medicines approved through the centralized procedure​